The Pacific Princess will be hibernating at Dockyard this winter, sleeping off a sluggish cruise season The Royal Gazette has learned.

The cruise ship - well known as the floating set for the popular 70s television show Love Boat - completed its regular season sailing between New York and Bermuda last week.

But rather than heading across the Atlantic to continue cruising through the winter months, the ship returned to Bermuda on Friday and will stay at Dockyard until next year's season when its Bermuda route resumes in May, shipping agent Don MacPherson of John S. Darrell said yesterday.

Mr. MacPherson said the Pacific Princess would normally spend the winter cruising in the Mediterranean and West African coastline but has been given the winter off in order to divert business to other Princess cruises in the area.

The Pacific Princess was actually sold to a new owner last year but the Princess line has chartered the ship from the new owner in order to complete its cruise commitment to the Bermuda Government.

The new owner has not been announced but will take possession of the ship when the Government contract ends in 2002.

Rather than berthing at the cruise ship dock, Pacific Princess will stay in the more sheltered "knuckles" area of the South basin.